Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

All conditions are given for the development of Hungarian-Chinese economic relations

April 27, 2019 1:13 PM

“All political and cultural conditions are given for the development of Hungarian-Chinese economic relations”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Friday in Beijing in his speech prior to the conclusion of several Chinese-Hungarian business agreements.

The Minister said effective economic cooperation with China is a key issue for Hungary, because – as he explained – the economy that has now grown to be the largest in the world represents such a huge market for Hungary, that it fundamentally determines the country’s export performance.

“Through using the latest technologies, China is also assuring the continuous and dynamic growth of the Hungarian economy’s competitiveness”, he stressed.

Mr. Szijjártó said that in his assessment Hungarian-Chinese relations have never been as good as they are now. “Relations between the two countries are based on mutual respect and are being raised to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership, and accordingly there are no open questions within political relations and there is nothing that could hinder the further development of economic cooperation”, he said.

The Minister pointed out that Hungary has opened a foreign trade office network with headquarters in Shanghai, and is also facilitating the appearance of Hungarian enterprises on the Chinese market with various EximBank loans.

He highlighted the fact that China has grown to become Hungary’ number one trade partner outside the European Union, realising an all-time record level of bilateral trade flow of 8.7 billion dollars last year. He listed information technology, the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, transport and water management as important areas of cooperation for Hungarian enterprises.

Following the Minister’s speech, Chinese and Hungarian enterprises concluded several agreements, including Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport and Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, which could expand the number of destinations available from Budapest with further Chinese cities. Richter Gedeon signed a pharmaceutical industry agreement, which Mr. Szijjártó said could lead to the further expansion of already dynamically increasing Hungarian pharmaceuticals exports. In addition, the University of Szeged concluded an agreement with Huawei, thanks to which basic IT research in Szeged will have the opportunity to become involved in Huawei’s research & development activities.